From a customer point of view, you have consumer rights that allow you a refund in most countries. Such a shame you can return a guitar to a music store within 30 days for a full refund no matter if it’s because you just didn’t like the way it played, but when it comes to software developers some companies make it seem like a crime to ask for a refund.

If you purchase software you are not pleased with, you should be able to return it no problem for whatever reason. It’s actually not even legal to say “all sales final” or “no refunds”.

You can revoke a license pretty easy or deactivate someones license rather easy after a return, so a refund should not be a problem and the user would have no way to continue using the product. Works out for both consumer and developer and nobody loses anything.

Refunds suck but they are basic human rights and consumer rights. Nobody should have to be stuck with something they don’t want to continue using.

When I see “all sales are final” it usually tells me that who I’m buying from is not really concerned with if I actually like what I’m buying, and/or they are not confident in the product they are selling.

You can revoke a license pretty easy or deactivate someones license rather easy after a return, so a refund should not be a problem and the user would have no way to continue using the product. Works out for both consumer and developer and nobody loses anything.

Not true. You can easily revoke a license only if you use challenge/response or a dongle, but you can't revoke a license if the user authorized with a serial or a keyfile.
The only thing you could do is blacklist that user in a future update, but nothing can stop a fraudulent user to keep running their refunded copy.

If you purchase software you are not pleased with, you should be able to return it no problem for whatever reason. It’s actually not even legal to say “all sales final” or “no refunds”.

Software can't be treated the same way as goods. In fact, in most countries software (or any digital product) is considered a service: you are actually buying a license. You can't really return a license like you would return a t-shirt to a store.

If you purchase software you are not pleased with, you should be able to return it no problem for whatever reason. It’s actually not even legal to say “all sales final” or “no refunds”.

Software can't be treated the same way as goods. In fact, in most countries software (or any digital product) is considered a service: you are actually buying a license. You can't really return a license like you would return a t-shirt to a store.

AT is right, in most cases (if the developer has got the EULA correct) you are not actually "buying" the software, you are buying a license to run the software, and the rules about license vs purchases may well be different in different countries. As a developer who uses serial numbers with no calling-home then there is no way I can "easily revoke" the license, so this is a thorny area...

Not sure if it's been mentioned already, but offering a demo version offers some protection against users claiming that the software didn't work on their system. Of course it still relies on the user downloading and testing the demo, rather than just impulse purchasing a license.

Not sure if it's been mentioned already, but offering a demo version offers some protection against users claiming that the software didn't work on their system. Of course it still relies on the user downloading and testing the demo, rather than just impulse purchasing a license.

It makes me want to make ‘in App purchasing’ a thing rather than a separate store...

Not sure if it's been mentioned already, but offering a demo version offers some protection against users claiming that the software didn't work on their system. Of course it still relies on the user downloading and testing the demo, rather than just impulse purchasing a license.

It makes me want to make ‘in App purchasing’ a thing rather than a separate store...

That's kind of a cool idea! However, I don't think imbedding the sales process in the demo is any good because you may need to switch processors.

However, Make people download the demo and provide a purchase link in the menu to take them to the store and have this the only way to purchase. Or, offer a small discount of 5-10% by following this path. This would mark those sales from people who have demoed from those who haven't. Even a slightly hobbled plugin that works to a degree, without the nagware, with an upgrade option could work.